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Sudan Tribune

Plural news and views on Sudan

Civilians flee El Fasher as fighting intensifies

Families seeking refuge in Tawila after escaping conflict in El Fasher, November 8, 2024.

Families seeking refuge in Tawila after escaping conflict in El Fasher, November 8, 2024.

November 10, 2024 (EL FASHER) – Residents of El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, continue to flee their homes amid escalating clashes between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), as both sides employ heavy weaponry, including airstrikes and artillery.

The RSF has been attacking El Fasher since May 10, shortly after besieging the city, in an attempt to seize control of the last major urban centre in the region. The army and its allies are fiercely defending the city.

“The exodus of El Fasher residents has increased with the intensification of fighting in the city,” eyewitnesses told Sudan Tribune.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported on Sunday that 350 families were displaced from El Fasher between November 7 and 9 due to ongoing clashes in the eastern and southeastern neighbourhoods.

The IOM said most families fled to locations within El Fasher’s locality, Tawila, Kabkabiya in North Darfur, and across the border to Chad. The organization noted reports of civilian casualties.

Adam Rijal, spokesperson for the Darfur Displaced and Refugee Coordinator, said 416 families, comprising around 2,080 individuals, arrived in areas controlled by the Sudan Liberation Movement led by Abdel Wahid al-Nur.

He said the families, who fled El Fasher on Thursday, settled in Tawila, Golo, Darbat, Sortony, Souq Fanga, and Martal, all under the control of the Sudan Liberation Movement.

On November 5, the Humanitarian Research Lab at Yale University reported that the RSF attacked the air base of the 6th Infantry Division in El Fasher.

Satellite imagery analyzed by the lab showed the RSF advancing closer to the city centre.

There are fears that an RSF takeover of El Fasher could have dire consequences, including mass killings and widespread human rights abuses. The RSF has been accused of burning numerous villages inhabited by the Zaghawa ethnic group in Kutum locality, North Darfur, on the pretext of supporting the joint force of armed movements.